“Why on earth do you love us both?!” – Thomas confessed to his affair, and my world shattered.
I don’t remember finishing my tea. I don’t remember breathing. Everything inside me froze. Only his voice—calm, rough—hammered at my skull like a mallet. He said it without shame, without fear, as if he wasn’t speaking of betrayal, but something ordinary.
“I love you both,” Thomas repeated, staring straight into my eyes.
My fingers trembled as I pushed my plate away. My appetite vanished in an instant. My body went numb, like I’d been scalded. His face turned ashen, his lips quivering, yet he kept talking.
“It started two months ago… We work in the same company, in logistics. We were handling a tight deadline, spending more time together, and then—somehow—it just happened. I love her, but I love you too. I couldn’t keep lying. It’s tearing me apart. Do you understand?”
I wasn’t listening. All I heard was the volcano erupting inside me. Everything was crumbling. Everything I’d believed in, everything I’d trusted. I wanted to scream, hurl the plate at him, smash a glass against the wall. But I held myself together. Somehow, I stood, gripping the edge of the table.
“You need to leave. Tonight,” I rasped. “I need to be alone.”
The door slammed behind him, and I collapsed onto the bed. The pillow smelled like him, the duvet icy against my skin. My heart howled. I wept silently, face buried in the mattress, as if I could hide from his betrayal. He knew how much I loved him. He knew how deeply I trusted him. And still—he did this.
I pounded my fists into his pillow like a madwoman. Then an image flickered in my mind—the other woman. Who was she? What did she look like? Younger than me? Blonde or brunette? Slender? Full lips, magazine-perfect? I pictured her swaying hips, her sweet mouth kissing my man, her eyes locking onto his, her laughter ringing in his ears. My hands shook. I could barely breathe.
By morning, I couldn’t take it. I had to see her—look into the face of the woman who’d shattered my home.
I called in sick, then rang Thomas’s office. The receptionist was naïve—she slipped up easily. Her name was Emily. A quick search on social media brought up her profile. Barely anything there—just one photo. A neat woman in a white blouse and jeans. Not stunning, not a model. Yet somehow—she had stolen him from me.
That evening, I drove to her address. Sat in my car outside her building, gripping the steering wheel until my fingers ached. My heart raced like a wild thing. Half an hour later, I saw her. And… I was surprised. She was ordinary. Completely. No striking beauty, no flashy clothes. Just a simple hairstyle, calm movements. If she were my friend, I wouldn’t have given her a second glance.
But the rage didn’t fade. It burned hotter. If she hadn’t seduced him with looks, then it was something else. Something deeper. He’d fallen for her mind, her soul. That made her a thousand times more dangerous. I leapt out of the car and followed her. She stepped into the supermarket, grabbed a trolley—then smiled at me.
That was the final straw.
“Think you’ve won?” I hissed. “He’s mine. Not yours. Got it?! Stay the hell away from him!”
She blinked, bewildered.
“Excuse me… do I know you?”
I clenched my jaw. How dare she play dumb?
“Cut the act. You’re Emily, aren’t you? You’re seeing Thomas. Well, listen—he’s mine. Always has been, always will be!”
Her face paled. Her fingers tightened around the trolley handle.
“Oh God… he never said he was with someone… I—I didn’t know…”
She looked genuinely shocked. Or she was a damn good actress. But an hour and a half later, we were in a nearby café. She sat across from me, tears in her eyes, telling her side of the story.
“I fell for a liar,” she whispered. “But now I want nothing to do with him. He can rot for all I care.”
I couldn’t answer. My voice had abandoned me. Because to me, Thomas had been my entire world. A world he’d destroyed with a single confession.